Citizens Financial Group in Providence, R.I., is launching an online-only bank aimed at boosting its consumer deposit base, the company said Monday.
Deposits gathered through Citizens Access, the new online bank, will help fund the $153.5 billion-asset Citizens’ other retail offerings, like student loan refinance, merchant finance and home equity lending.
“Over the past several years, we have invested heavily in data and analytics to better understand and react to customer needs, and we are excited to engage with them in one of our industry’s fastest-growing deposit channels,” Brad Conner, Citizens' head of consumer banking, said in a press release. “Over time we believe this will better position the bank to further innovate, acquire new customers and deliver expanded digital capabilities.”
Over the past year, regional and national banks have increasingly begun rolling out digital, direct-to-consumer offerings. PNC Financial Services Group, BBVA Compass and Citigroup are among those that launched their
Now, Citizens is joining the ranks large or regional banks launching
A spokesman said that Citizens Access will have no lending component, and it will offer savings accounts and certificates of deposit. Citizens Access is expected to launch next quarter and the bank expects it to generate rough $2 billion of deposits this year, according to an investor presentation scheduled for Tuesday that was posted on Citizens' website midday Monday.
Deposits, and particularly low-cost deposits, are becoming ever more important as banks strive to keep funding costs down in a rising rate environment. Citizens said recently that its
Citizens Access is expected to officially launch in the third quarter.
